Trucks in Cuba

Myself and the wheelchock spent 2 weeks in Cuba a couple years back. Fantastic gaff- can eat well, good digs, inexpensive barley sodas and the people are terrific.
I noticed some of the American cars had been re-powered with merc diesels and no doubt drive train as they had stick shift gearboxes. Fuel was a $1 a litre. Saw a lot of busted-arse FL 112 Freightliners and COE Tinstars. Even the wheelchock enjoyed seeing all the old late 50's bulgemobiles that the Cubans do well at keeping on the road. I agree that if anyone is interested in visiting Cuba they should do so before it becomes too 'western'.

From my Cuba files. This I got from the net, without the link. I also have notes not on the hard drive, from my 2010 group organiser, including more on numberplates. Railway enthusiast friends had no trouble using self-drive hired cars for years before 2010.
I went solo in 1992, loved Cuba and hated Jamaica.

Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

Prepare yourself with a good map, a good guidebook and visit good discussion boards on the Internet like the Lonely Planet Thorntree, where people can give you advice on how to plan your vacation.
Cuba is a huge island, 1200 km long. You have to overthink a few things before you decide driving in Cuba.
Be in time if you want to make a reservation on forehand. Cuba does not have enough cars during high season (Dec/Jan/Feb and July/August) besides this, most car rental agencies have to ask availability in Cuba by email which takes time, sometimes even weeks.
Renting a car in Cuba is expensive but the other side is you can stop where you want to stop and have all the time for your own, it's well worth the money.
Gas and Gas Stations: Cupet-Cimex and Oro Negro, are the regular gas stations, at good Cuban road maps, these stations are marked. Take good notice of this, because the autopista is not overwhelmed with Cupets Gas Stations!
Fill up your tank if you intend to drive a long distance, do not think there will be another station within the next 50 km.
A good roadmap like the Guia Carretera shows all the petrol stations along the road, but even then, don't count on it.
Roads. The Central Highway (Carretera Central) is the most important communication axis of the country. It joins the main urban centres all along and to the centre of the Island and it is connected with other main ways such as the National Freeway, the Monimental, Via Blanca, La Farola, etc. It is a narrow way with two lanes and it was built in the 1930s.
The National Highway, even more modern, connects the western part of the country, all along the Isle to Ciego de Avila, located in the centre of the country and near the eastern part of the country. It is most rapid, modern and wide way, provided with several lanes. However, it doesn't get to the eastern provinces of the country. It extends all through the south center of the island. It is a wide way, with 6 and 8 lanes and it was built in the 1970s.
We have created 12 pages on how to drive best around Cuba. Routes from one city to the other and what to see on the way. Check out the print friendly version of this handy document, print it out and take it with you to Cuba.
By bus. Most easy and cheapest to go around Cuba is by the Viazul Bus. A hyper modern airconditioned bus with video and toilet For a good price you can travel between all the big cities of Cuba p.a. a ride from Havana to Varadero will cost you CUC10. Make your reservation a day before your departure by phone, online through their website, or just go to the bus station.
Astro bus. The regular National public transportation Cubans will pay with CUP, foreigners in CUC. This bus drives all over the island, a bit cheaper than the Viazul Bus, but less comfortable and reliable. The Astro bus has a few places for tourists per bus! Since 2005 The old Astro bus is replaced by this new bus (see picture) These buses come from China. We do not have a schedule from the Astro bus.
By train. Since the last years the Cuban railways bought French first class airconditioned trains. Train schedules in Cuba are not reliable, you have to have some patience. I must say it is a real Cuban experience to go through Cuba by train, in specific for train fans, back-packers, and people who love to mingle with locals. The nr 1 and 2 trains from Havana to Santiago de Cuba v.v is 4 h faster than the Viazul Bus! Remind that all other trains besides the number 1 and number 2 are never on time
You can easily take a flight within Cuba. Taking a domestic flight saves you a lot of time to go p.a. from Havana to Santiago de Cuba. Besides this, if you would like to go to Cayo Largo you have no choice and have to take a domestic flight simply because there is no ferry transfer to this part of Cuba Flights on Cuba-Junky are ready for purchase and will be confirmed instantly. Via Cuba-Junky flights can be booked 24 h per day, 7 days per week. The entire booking process only has 5 simple steps and can take as little as 5 min.
How Cubans move from one place to the other. No es facil, the Cubans used to say when these kind of topics come up. All the drivers of cars who are owned by the state of Cuba (blue and light red) have to take all hitch-hikers with them, after they finish work. Can be (empty) tourist buses as well the trucks. That's why you see alot of hitch-hikers standing next to the road on the autopista or at crossroads in the inlands. To be sure of a fast ride people bring all kinds of merchandise like garlic, chickens, money, cheese. everything they can trade to get a fast ride. The perfect solution when a country as Cuba has a terrible public transportation like buses and trains. Remind that by Cuban law, a Cuban without a taxi-licencee is not allowed to take you, a foreigner, with them in their car. Not even when it is your best friend. Of course you will meet Cubans who want to drive you to where-ever, but it is not allowed. The risk you take is that when the police stops you, the driver gets a fine and you have to out of the car, even when it is in the middle of no-where!
Camel bus. Public transportation in La Habana. More then 300 people are fitting in this bus, but for the real Cuban experience you most try at least once, take care of your belongings. Since June 08, the camel buses in Havana are replaced by new Chinese buses.
There is a company who has daytrips from Jamaica to Cuba by boat, but this company does not take passengers for just a transport to Cuba. One of the ferries that do exist is the ferry in Havana to Regla neigborhood, see the picture. [There is also a domestic one to Isla de Jeueves; and a tourist one in Cienfuegos harbour].

Cuban numberplates. Cuban cars have different colored numberplates, these numberplates tell who is the owner of the car, where he comes from. Handy for you foreigner to know that yours will be red and starts with a T so people can see you are a tourist.
Yellow Private Car
Dark Red - Beginning with a T (tourismo) is a rented Car
Orange Second letter a K is a car of a foreigner working in Cuba
Light Orange Managers and important people, free gasoline
Light Red State own, have to return after working hours
Blue State own, can go home after working hours
White Officials / ministry
Black Embassy
Green Army
Light Green Interior ministry
By Bicycle
Bike rent. I only know of one address where you can rent a bike in Cuba: Edificio Metropolitano, San Juan de Dios, esq. Aguacate, Habana Vieja, Tel: 53- 7 - 860 8532.

G'day Zuffen, here's a couple of VW trucks from South America about 6 or 7 years ago. They are used more like the Jap trucks are here, mostly local. The line haulers are headed up by Volvo, then Scania, Mercedes (and many older 1418's) and other European brands, but locally produced in Brazil and Argentina. The VW's came about when they bought the Chrysler factory in Brazil and kept on making similar vehicles, probably just re-badged at first. Cheers

I don't have many commercial vehicles in my 2010 set. I'll do taxis for the taxi thread elsewhere in the forum, and get the trucks here, when I have winkled them out and prepared them. I might have more in my 1992 set, but they are slides, and in a queue.

Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

Central Australia is closed as a mill, but runs a steam loco as a tourist operation.
100306Sa Australia (Cuba). Loco1716. Roderick Smith.


100301M La Habana, Cuba. Taxis. Roderick Smith.

My hasty post lived up to stereotypes: vintage American, and decrepit buildings. That is only a fraction of the full picture: there are also lots of modern vehicles, and most buildings are stunning colonial-era architecture, particularly the public buildings in La Habana. I am grouping my posts into themes. Just about all are crops from photos taken for other reasons, and so are pushed to/beyond technical limits. Anybody who goes to Cuba returns as an enthusiast: the friendly people, the immense variety, and the time-warp atmosphere. AFAIK this is the last such country in the world: Uruguay and Sri Lanka have updated.

This selection shows modern buses in La Habana, with just a glimpse of one of those North American bonnet schoolbuses, which could well have been donated as foreign aid by Canada.

Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

100301M La Habana, Cuba. Urban bus. R Smith


100301M La Habana, Cuba. Urban bus. R Smith


100301M La Habana, Cuba. Buses. R Smith


100301M La Habana, Cuba. Buses. R Smith


100301M La Habana, Cuba. Bus. R Smith

Never thought of Canada donating old bonneted School busses to Cuba.

I was wondering how US busses got there but missed the Canadian connection.

The most common make of modern car is Hyundai with a stranglehold on the market.

I'm trying to batch the photos logically.
The first shows my only 1992 photo of a yellow bonneted schoolbus.

Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

100301M La Habana (Cuba). Buses, trucks, minivan & midibus. (Roderick Smith)








100303W Hershey area (Cuba). Light truck. R Smith

lots of the cars are running various German Motors along with Chinese , the main thing with the Cubans is their ability to cross match anything and make it work, embargoed by the USA they make do with whatever they have lying around. no such thing as scap metal in cuba when it comes to vehicles.
excellent pics Zuffen .thanks

Here is a mixture of buses.

Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

100312F Bartolome Maso mill (Cuba). Local transport (ie a farm cane bin with passengers). R Smith


100304Th Matanzas (Cuba). Local bus. R Smith


100304Th Matanzas (Cuba). Local buses and a yank tank (Plymouth?). R Smith.


100314Su La Habana Jose Marti Airport (Cuba). Airport bus. R Smith.


100314Su La Habana Jose Marti Airport (Cuba). Airport bus. R Smith.

Here are some trucks. I can't identify brands, and some may be in Cyrillic alphabet, not roman. As with nearly everything in my Cuba HCVC collection, the photos are crops of shots taken for other reasons.

Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

100304Th Matanzas (Cuba). Trucks, and an unidentified taxi. R Smith


100306Sa Cienfuegos (Cuba). Truck. R Smith


100308M Heriberto Dusquesne (Cuba). Cane trucks. R Smith


100308M Heriberto Dusquesne (Cuba0. Cane truck. R Smith